Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Institute by Stephen King

72 reviews

daphnesbookcorner's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.25

Het verhaal vind ik goed bedacht, maar het las ontzettend traag. Als ik dan een avondje had gelezen had ik misschien pas 30 pagina’s gelezen ipv meer (wat ik gewend ben). 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I feel like this is Steven King’s version of a Marvel superhero story if it were directed by Stephen Spielberg.

Fun read and l ight (as much as a story about child torture and exploitation can be), though long.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Outing, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

abernathy_33's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, and Torture

Moderate: Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

Minor: Racial slurs, Vomit, and Alcohol

czoltak's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

I would’ve liked this a lot more if it wasn’t so unnecessarily long and drawn out 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, and Death of parent

bittie_bee's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Minor: Child death and Death of parent

daisymoffit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

I don't tend to go for Stephen King, as I'm not the biggest fan of gore; but l've had this on my shelf for years now, and so it was finally time. I do, however, enjoy horror and thrillers- and thankfully The Institute skewed more so in that direction instead of aimless blood and guts. Interesting premise, it makes you want to keep reading to figure out what's actually going on, and well executed as far as explaining the plot in a way that doesn't give you too much information all at once. The characters are well written and diverse, and the ending doesn't leave you too frustrated or disappointed. My only quell would be that it's a bit slow and sometimes too detailed on the "science" going on within the plot, but besides the slight bore that that brings-overall a decent, interesting horror book.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

_marycappiello3's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gun violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

fanboyriot's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

♡ Small Town

♡ Toxic Institute 

♡ The Kid Saves the Day

While I don’t care for a lot of Stephen Kings books, I think I might have finally found the exception.  This book was really good.  The details in this book weren’t overwhelmingly unnecessary but rather well written into the plot, the backstory and setting.  While there were a few parts I didn’t care for like the mentions of a thermometer, dude, they are children why was that necessary to write like that and then joke about later one in the book? It was just an ick about the book. 

There were more things I enjoyed about this book than things I disliked.  The plot was amazing and all of the characters were very well detailed.  It was such an entertaining read, it kept my interest the entire time.

Spice Level: n/a

Angst Level: 💧💧💧💧 (4/5)

POV: Multiple, Third Person

Release Date: 01, September 2020

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Mental illness, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Dementia, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, War, and Classism

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Excrement, Police brutality, Car accident, and Alcohol

mainereading's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

The Institute reminded me of Stranger Things, Carrie, IT, and Firestarter. A bunch of kids fighting evil!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol

thebookkeepers's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

This was my first Stephen King book and WOW. I can see why he is the revered author that he is. This book was a psychological thriller with sci-fi themes. I was immersed in the story and could not put it down. I was a little confused with the opening Part since it didn't align with the blurb, but trusted the process and it all made sense. I was on pins and needles reading this and it consumed my attention. I loved the Netflix show The OA and this reminded me of parts of that show. I loved all the characters and thought the execution of the story as well as the reveals of the mysterious parts were done with expert attention. I will be reading more Stephen King, especially next time I crave a page-turner. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicide, Torture, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Cursing, Gun violence, and Violence

Minor: Excrement and Vomit